While my soccer team cruised to a 5-0 victory this morning, Nico’s New England team won a hard-fought semi-final match against New York in a penalty kick shootout, earning them a place in the US Cup finals. There, they faced last year’s champions, Miami, which is basically the Haitian national team.

In the finals, New England looked very strong through 80% of the match. The team had the more dangerous attacks with two shots just off the posts. Miami, however, managed to score with ten minutes remaining, putting New England into a must-score situation. They pushed forward more players on offense, leaving themselves exposed to counterattacks, which Miami exploited for two additional goals. Nicolai left everything he had on the field, collapsing as the final whistle blew. It was a tough loss for New England but a great victory for amputee soccer.